Jincy Jose interview: Six-time national arm-wrestling champion on Pro Panja League and daughter Anslet's journey into sport

This is perhaps the understatement of the century, but elite athletes don’t grow on trees and you’d usually be hard-pressed to find anyone who is a national champion in their discipline. However, in Idukki, Kerala, there exists a house in which you can bump into not one, but two National Arm-Wrestling Championship winners: Jincy Jose, a six-time national champion, and Anslet, her daughter, who has made a name for herself in the junior categories. But in spite of the pair’s accomplishments, Jincy denied there being a secret to their success, saying instead that it just came down to an enthusiasm for sport. “I usually practice at home, and all of us, including my son and daughter, are part of it. My husband’s family is full of sports enthusiasts. My husband’s father, who is no more, was a Kalari expert. Even my husband’s mother used to arm wrestle as a recreational activity. A year after I started competing, I started taking my daughter along in 2015 as she, as I said, was practising with me at home,” Jose told Firstpost.com. Jincy’s journey in arm-wrestling began several years ago, and she explained that a key factor behind her taking up the sport was her husband, saying, “previously, it was very rare to see a woman competing. If you look at Idduki district alone, I am the first woman to enter competitions. I took up arm wrestling because my husband coaxed me into it after we got married. Between family members, we’d have arm-wrestling matches at home. The first time I felt the competitive rush was during an arm-wrestling contest organised by a church in our district during Onam. I went on to win the completion. I was also Gram Panchayat member of Idduki district between 2005 and 2010. That was when I got to know that there are district, state and national tournaments for arm wrestling.” “From 2014, I started competing. I started with district tournaments. From there, I improved step by step thanks to the encouragement I received from my husband, who always believed I’d make a very good arm wrestler. Two years ago, he met with an accident and he was confined to a wheelchair. Despite that, he insisted that I practice regularly and used to help me and my daughter,” she added. Her husband’s accident brought on a period of immense struggle in Jincy’s life, but thanks to the help of people around her and her husband’s positive outlook on life, she was able to power through. “My husband would always tell me, ‘I may have lost my legs but god has given me life.’ Even right after the accident, he’d tell me to focus on training and prepare for competitions. Kerala’s Arm Wrestling Association also helped us a lot. The association always looked after us because we would conduct training sessions at home for young aspirants. They ensured that the setback didn’t affect my game. Of course, my husband’s will power gave me the confidence to continue pursuing arm wrestling,” said Jincy. [caption id=“attachment_9477421” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Jincy Jose takes on Shruti Bawa in the Pro Panja League, Image credit: Pro Panja League[/caption] In recent months, Jincy has competed in the Pro Panja League, defeating Shruti Bawa in the Pro Panja Mega Matches - 1 that took place in Mumbai in February. “Shruti Bawa and I have competed before, sometime in 2016. After I got to know about Pro Panja League, the training became more rigorous to help prepare for that tournament. Thankfully, the contest went well for me and I could defeat her,’ said Jincy of her encounter with Bawa. She also praised the tournament for raising the profile of the sport in India, saying, “it was truly a blessing to compete in the Pro Panja League. The competition was intense; nothing short of a World Championship event. The event was so professional — even the stay and how the athletes were taken care of. My daughter and I both took part. Because of Pro Panja League, I got so much more recognition.”